Senate lawmakers in Washington intend to bump up the budget for the Space Force by at least $2 billion in order to more effectively support the development of a missile warning satellite as well as more responsive launch capabilities, and, finally, improve the infrastructure for both training and testing.
This budgetary increase proposal represents only part of the $792 billion Senate Appropriations Committee’s fiscal 2023 spending package. Released on July 28, the bill calls for a 9 percent increase to the 2022 Department of Defense fiscal budget spending levels. It is also $31 billion more than what House lawmakers originally approved a little more than a month ago.
In a report released with the bill, last week, the House Appropriations Committee labeled space exploration and development among their top priorities. Specifically, the committee noted that part of the approximately $2 billion increase will focus on hypersonic missile tracking capabilities. It would also go towards increasing support towards evolving and strengthening the Space Force’s architecture.
When it comes to space-related funding, the main focus appears to be upwards of $700 million to accelerate the acquisition of the Space Development Agency missile warning and tracking satellites mentioned above. Also, they hope some of the funding will support a new fleet of space vehicles for medium Earth orbit (between 1,243 and 22,236 miles, above the surface. Finally, the proposal also includes $216 million to expedite SDA missile warning and tracking satellite launches.
On top of all this, the service also projects a need for at least $24.5 billion for the development and acquisition of missile warning and tracking systems across the next five years. This will proceed to the development of the Space-Baed Infrared System as part of an initiative from the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared program, all of which aims to expand constellations that can expand the mission with new orbits.
